Can't Run From The Past
by Zoe Marie888
Summary: Set at the start of s5 then turns slightly AU. Peyton returns home, turning her and other's worlds upside down as she deals with old and new issues.
1. Chapter 1

**Can't Run From The Past**

Peyton stepped out of New Hanover airport into the hot North Carolina summer, with her green eyes flashing and was immediately hit with a wave of emotion. The last time she was here was four years ago when she was saying goodbye to her friends and moving across the country to LA to pursue a career in music. Today she was returning a changed person, but not in good way, as she was feeling numb and empty. LA wasn't her dream, and it had taken her the last three years to realize that, so she was returning with her tail slightly between her legs to go back to the beginning to hopefully figure out what went wrong.

Hailing the first available cab that was parked next to the kerb, Peyton quickly crossed the sidewalk, weaving her way in and out of the people stood greeting other travellers with hugs and kisses. Passing her small suitcase to the driver to put into the boot, she slid into the back seat and let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. _'Two minutes down, a lifetime more to go'_ she thought to herself, knowing that eventually was going to run into somebody she knows. Only Brooke knows that she is returning, and considering she was still stuck up in New York, no one else was expecting her.

"Where to, Miss?" the driver asks, putting the car into gear and pulling away from the sidewalk.

"Tree Hill," Peyton responds automatically, pushing her blonde curls over her shoulder and biting her lip nervously. "I'm going home," she breathes, resting her head against the cool glass, watching as the airport got smaller in the distance and eventually familiar sights of her home town came into view. Crossing the river, she refused to look in the direction of the Rivercourt, knowing that if she saw him now he would break down all her defences. No, she needed time to gather her thoughts and protect her heart before she saw him again.

Pulling up outside her house, Peyton took a quick look up and down the street before climbing out of the cab. The wooden porch creaks in a comforting way whilst she fumbles with her keys, having not used them in what felt like an eternity, not that she used them much when she lived here full time, preferring to leave the front door unlocked, well at least until half way through her senior year...

Shaking her head to remove that train of thought, she pushed her front door open, using a little more force than usual as her father hadn't been home in a good few months and there was a pile of post blocking the door. Dragging her suitcase over the threshold, Peyton quickly twisted around to close the door behind her before bending down to scoop the post into a pile before throwing it in the direction of the coffee table, thinking that she will spend time later on sorting through it all.

Leaving her suitcase at the bottom of the stairs knowing that all the contents needed washing anyway, Peyton began the climb up to her old bedroom. Running her hand up the smooth, wooden handrail, she felt the dust clog under her fingertips and she quickly removed her hand to wipe in onto the back of her jeans. With the looks of it the whole house needed to be cleaned from top to bottom, which would keep her busy until Brooke showed up. Tracing her fingers across her black bedroom door, Peyton took a deep breath before stepping back into her room, and feeling as though she had somehow stepped back in time four years. If only it was that easy.

It looked like a time capsule, with her artwork still plastered to the red walls and her vinyl records still alphabetized in the large wooden shelves her father had made her. Her old worn computer sat in the corner, and her webcam could be seen resting on the floor of her walk-in wardrobe, where she had thrown it after ripping it out of its socket. The only thing that had changed is that her father had at some point over the last couple of years had removed her blankets and sheets from her bed to be washed, and her pillows and duvet were now piled neatly at the base of her mattress.

Sitting down with a sigh on her computer swivel chair, she knew where in the house she would have to start cleaning first. There was no way she would be able to sleep in this room whilst her high school memories where plastered onto her walls, reminding her how she used to feel and all the possibilities she used to have. Pulling off her high heels, she found her well worn pair of converse on the floor under her desk, before pulling her curls into a messy ponytail and setting to work.

Two days later Peyton collapsed in a heap on her sofa, with just the pile of post left to sort out. Working non-stop she had managed to clean the house, and she was grateful when she realized most of it was just dust, although she almost gagged when she found some very mouldy bread in one of the kitchen cupboards.

Pulling her freshly showered hair into a twist on the back of her head, knowing from years of experience that this ended up giving her manageable waves instead of out of control curls, she moved to sit cross legged in front of the coffee table, quickly sorting most of the post into a junk mail pile ready for the trash. Searching through the remaining pile, she found an envelope with familiar writing scrawled on the front and she quickly ripped it open and unfolded the single sheet of paper.

 _Hey Chicken,_

 _Sorry I'm not there to welcome you home, but my thoughts are always with you. I always knew that someday you would come home, not because I thought you would fail (which you haven't) but because I once told you to follow your heart, and, like the last time, it always leads you back home. There is emergency money as always in the hiding spot, so have a take-out pizza on me._

 _Call me whenever you need me, and I will be there to listen, ready to come home if needed. Love always, Dad._

Peyton smiled at his words, wishing that they had kept up with their weekly phone calls, but with the hours of her old job, and the label constantly calling her, she had let things slide. She has missed having a proper family for some time now, which was one of the reasons she had decided to come home.

Just the thought of pizza was making her stomach rumble, as she hadn't really eaten much since returning home. Earlier in the day she had attempted to go to the store to get some essentials in, but her reliable Mercury Comet hadn't wanted to start, which wasn't all that surprising, considering she wasn't exactly sure when it had last been started up. Quickly changing into a lightweight green dress and a pair of strappy sandals, Peyton exited the house for the first time since coming home.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas was sat at his desk in his bedroom, staring at the flashing cursor on his computer screen, trying to will a new story into existence. The few lines he had written had almost instantly been deleted, and because of it his editor was now on his case, which was killing the final sliver of inspiration. The truth was that his inspiration had set off in search of its own dreams, leaving him behind with just a pain in his chest and a memory of the type of writing he was once capable of.

The sun had set a few hours ago, but he had yet to turn any lights on, so it was just the dull glow of the computer cutting through the gloom. At the edge of his desk he was able to make out the title of his first novel 'An Unkindness Of Ravens' with his name in bold black text underneath. It was three years since he heard that it was going to get published, and his life was turned up-side down in more ways than one. On that night he had taken Brooke's advice, to become the best person possible, and then she would come back to him. So following that night he poured his heart and soul into his novel, making it the best possible piece of work he was capable of, before inviting her to his book signing a year later, but she didn't show up, and since then he couldn't write another sentence.

Slamming his fist against the wood, he refused to have a trip down memory lane. He had move on since then; moved forwards. So if he decided he couldn't write another word, he would just pay back the money the publishing company had given him, which would be easy considering it was just sat in a savings account doing nothing. Standing up and stretching, he had to get out of this room and away from his computer. Crossing his bedroom quickly, Lucas grabbed his keys and well worn basketball before slamming the door behind him.

His feet automatically tread the familiar path to the Rivercourt, and he jogged down the sidewalk bouncing the ball rhythmically. Slowing down as his feet hit the grass, his memory decided the play a trick on him, and he could almost see her as she drove past in her convertible car with her hair streaming out behind her in the wind. Blinking quickly, the image dissolved into nothing, and the pain in his chest spiked for a moment when he had to tell himself once again she wasn't coming home. She was never coming home.

Raking his hands through his short blonde hair, causing it to stick up in random spikes; he felt around in the dark to find the switch for the floodlights, flicking it quickly, and allowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the lights. Once again his memory decided to conjure up the image of her again, this time stood in the centre of the court looking at the spot where they had spray painted their names at the end of senior year. _'God she is still as beautiful as ever'_ he thought for a moment, before banishing that thought and he realized that she looked slightly different. Her hair was a shade darker than the last time he has seen her, and her curls had formed into soft waves. The bright lights caused her to glance up quickly, almost guilty, as she looked for the source of the light, and then their eyes locked.

"Oh god," Lucas whispered out, not loud enough for her to hear as he realized she was really stood in front of him and was not just an illusion.

"Lucas?" she questions, looking like a deer caught it headlights with her deep green eyes flashing, searching for a way out without her defences caving.

"Peyton... it's been a long time," he mumbles, accidently dropping the basketball and his eyes follow its path across the court, but he doesn't make a move to retrieve it.

"Two years," she whispers in reply, causing Lucas' eyes to flash to her face.

"It's been longer than that," he corrects, and her eyes lock onto his. He automatically starts pushing past her walls, trying to decipher what she is feeling, even though he knows his heart can't take it.

"Lucas I've missed you," she eventually breaks, crossing the distance between them and touching the front of his shirt gently. Lucas wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, and welcome her home proper, but he couldn't.

"Peyton, I can't..." he gently pushes her hands away, protecting his heart but in the process breaking hers. "I have somebody... I'm _with_ somebody." He watches silently as her jaw drops open slightly, before she recovers and steps away from him, moving to sit on the benches at one side of the court. Snagging his ball from where it came to rest against the grass, Lucas followed her hesitantly. "So how long are you back for?"

"Er... a while," she answers vaguely, playing with the hem on her dress. "Brooke is back tomorrow as well. I'm supposed to be picking her up if I ever get my car to work."

Lucas immediately grabbed at the new topic, hoping desperately to remove some of the tension between them. "I could have a look at it if you want," he offers.

"No Luke, you don't need to do that," she replies almost instantly, her eyes snapping to his for a split second when she accidently used his nickname. "I'm going to go," she mumbles eventually after a moment of silence, getting up from the bench and disappearing into the darkness.

"I'll be seeing you," Lucas whispered to nobody, twisting around to shoot a three pointer before heading back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Peyton woke early the following morning, wondering if last night was a dream, until she noticed the damp blades of grass still stuck to the sides of her sandals. Coming home to Lucas having a girlfriend was not something she had anticipated, and she immediately felt like she was back in high school. Pulling open her wardrobe doors her hands scraped against the final item she had painted onto the wood. 'Lucas + Peyton = TLA.' That would definitely have to go before Brooke lands this afternoon.

Quickly pulling out a tin of black paint, a frequent occurrence in her wardrobe, she smoothed on a thin layer, just enough to cover up the words. She will bury them, just below the surface so that no-one can see.

Pulling on a clean pair of jeans and the first top she could find, she was about to drag a brush through her curls when she heard the letter box clatter. Glancing at the clock, she knew it was far too early for the mail man to be here, so what could it possibly be?

Skipping down the stairs two at a time, she noticed a small piece of folded paper sitting on the carpet. Picking it up gently, and unfolding it she read the scrawled sentence 'Your car is fixed, L.'

Reading it quickly a third time, she was torn between pulling the door open and running after Lucas, but in the end her head won out, and she had to force her feet away from the door and back up the stairs. The pain of last night's rejection was still too fresh for her heart, and it eventually gave in, letting her walk away back to her room. Throwing the note into the box containing her artwork that had previously been on the walls, Peyton slid the shoe box onto the top shelf in her wardrobe, feeling as though, somehow she had managed to throw her heart into the box as well.

Entering the airport for the second time this week, Peyton glanced quickly at the TV screens, which let her know that Brooke's flight landed ten minutes early. Rushing through the crowd towards the arrival gate, she spotted her best friend instantly. Even though they hadn't seen each other properly for the last couple of years, Peyton thought she hadn't changed one bit. Her chocolate brown hair was being held in place by her designer sunglasses, and she was of course wearing an original, custom made, Clothes Over Bros dress, which hugged her curves and emphasised her legs.

"P. Sawyer!" she shouted, dropping her stylish carry-on to the floor and attracting the attention of the near-by passengers.

"B. Davis," She smile with the same enthusiasm, closing the distance between them and wrapping both arms around her shoulders, instantly feeling that it now felt like home.

"It's alright," Brooke whispered into her ear, wrapping her arms around Peyton's waist before pulling back slightly. "We're home now," she smiled, pulling her in the direction of baggage claim.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucas pulled his front door open, and immediately pulled his damp t-shirt over his head in the direction of the washing machine, before heading towards the shower.

"Lucas?" he heard his name being called from the other end of the house, and he glanced up in response to see his girlfriend, and editor, Lindsey stepping out of his bedroom wearing a grey pencil skirt and white blouse. "Oh there you are... where have you been?" she questioned, glancing into the mirror to smooth out the French twist on the back of her head.

"Oh I've been down at the Rivercourt shooting some hoops," he replied, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck.

"Well don't forget that we have a lunch date with Nathan, Haley and Jamie in half an hour," she responded, padding down the hallway to find her shoes.

Lucas mumbled an incoherent response, before pulling open the bathroom door and twisting the shower on. He felt guilty, but it wasn't as though he had lied to Lindsey. He had been down at the Rivercourt, but only for about ten minutes as he ran through the conversation between himself and Peyton from the previous night.

He had woken up early and slipped out of his room, heading towards her house to fix her car. He was always the one who fixed it, and her leaving it up to somebody else felt wrong in his books, plus it was also the added bonus that he already knew what was wrong with it. When she left for LA four years ago he had disconnected the battery, so that it wouldn't drain itself. At the time he had told her father what he had done, who thought it was a good idea, but he must have forgotten to pass the message onto Peyton.

Standing next to her car, with the roof down just as he always remembered, it was as though the last four years had never happened. Her back seat was still littered with an assortment of rubbish, old school books and CDs, and on the front seat in the passenger foot well was her much abused sketch pad, that she must have left behind when she moved.

Lucas was half tempted to flick through her artwork, to see how she was feeling throughout her final few weeks at home, but he remembered how angry she got the last time. How did Uncle Keith describe her? Oh yeah, 'all curly hair and venom'. But with her sleeping close by, with the chance of catching him, he decided it probably wasn't the best idea in the world, plus it would only dredge up some painful memories that he had managed to bury.

Stepping under the water, he could hear Lindsey moving around the house, trying to get him to move faster, but instead he closed his eyes and put his head under the jet stream. Green eyes flashed behind his eyelids causing him to flinch involuntarily. Forcing his mind away from going down that path, he made himself think of something else. Physics. Her worst subject in school and the only connection he could make between the two. As far as he was aware there wasn't a Planet Peyton. What did she once say? _'It's Brooke's world. The rest of us just live in it.'_ That sounded just the right level of love and snarky-ness. Plus thinking about it, she wouldn't be a planet. Planets were on a fixed path. Reliable, easy to track, predictable. No, she was nothing like a planet. Maybe an asteroid, set on a crash course with Earth, or a Comet, destined to flash past, changing to world below with no effect to its own structure, and not guaranteed to return.

Stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist, he entered the living room and began searching for something, not bothering about the drips of water currently pooling on the wooden floor.

"Luke!" Lindsey broke through his concentration, one high heeled shoe tapping on the floor impatiently. "What are you doing?"

"Last month's Science magazine that got delivered. It had an article in it that I want to re-read for research," he answered vaguely.

"I filed it on the bookcase with the rest of them," she replied exasperated. "Why don't you go and get dressed and I will find the one you are looking for."

"Okay," he conceded, standing to go and get ready. "It had a bright blue cover and contained and article about planetary objects." Stepping back into his bedroom a smile flickered across his face. For the first time in years he actually felt inspired to write.


	5. Chapter 5

Peyton clicked her way down the corridor, and she was hit with a wave of nostalgia as her eyes focused on her old high school locker. From a distance it looked just like every other locker on the stretch, but if you looked close enough you could tell where the paint had been stripped away half way through her junior year to erase the fact someone (namely Felix) had tagged her door. Pausing for a second, brushing her fingertips over the surface, she could almost hear the high school version of Brooke stood behind her re-writing the cheerleader's new chant, or the sound of Nathan and Haley laughing as she dragged him in the direction of the tutor centre, or the sound of a gun being fired...

That day haunted her, just like it did for many of the students who happened to be in the corridor that day, or in the tutor centre, but what hurt her most was the stolen moment that her and Lucas had shared and then buried, whilst hiding out in the library. She held no doubt that he saved her life that day, but that wasn't surprising as he had been saving her life pretty much since the moment they first met.

Taking a deep breath and continuing down the hallway, she refused to look at the library doors, knowing that if she did she would want to enter just to see if they had eventually replaced all the carpet, to match the section which had be changed to remove the evidence of her blood. Shaking her head, she refused to dwell on the past any longer. She and Lucas had been getting on better recently, since she returned home, if you excluded the night when he asked why she didn't come to his book signing in LA, and she basically lied through her teeth by saying that she knew they weren't meant to be, even though her heart was screaming at her differently. That was the same day that he said she should start managing Tric again, bringing music home to the people of Tree Hill, and discovering new artists the way she always wanted to. She wasn't afraid to admit that the thought freaked her out slightly, mainly the thought of him being her boss, but as it turned out it was Karen's idea, and after a long phone conversation with her, Peyton eventually agreed.

After that they had spent the day together, with Brooke, Haley and Jamie, as Jamie was entered in a Soap Box Derby. He had gotten so big since she had been away, and it made her sad, knowing that she missed it all and that he didn't know who she was to start off with. Also at first glance he looked so much like Lucas, with blonde hair and blue eyes, it wasn't until you looked closer that you could see that they were the same shade as Nathan's eyes, not quite ocean blue, more of a deep, darker blue. Thinking of Lucas, which Peyton keeps trying to stop herself from doing, seeing him with Lindsey was hard that day, and if she was being truthful it hadn't gotten any easier, but she was determined to protect her heart and just deal with it. Her work smile quickly became her go to around the couple, the same one she was used to using when speaking to highly strung artists, or hungover producers. There was times however when Lucas' eyes would flash to her for a split second, and it felt like he knew how hard to was for her, because he was feeling it too, but Peyton knew that it couldn't be the case. He was the one who bailed, and he was the one who found a new girlfriend.

She had just taken a deep breath, and plastered on that fake smile, before concentrating all of her attention onto Jamie. Brooke however had looped her arm through hers, as if she could see past the smile. Peyton was glad that Brooke understood her, and was supporting her. She wouldn't know what she would have done without Brooke returning home with her.

Pushing open the gym doors, and passing underneath the old scoreboard, she smiled slightly as she remembered old cheer routines and basketball games. Her heels clattered against the wooden floors, attracting the attention of the new team, and she was pulled from her thought by the sounds of wolf whistles echoing against the brick walls.

Lucas' eyes snapped over to her, locating the source of his player's distraction, and subtly glanced over her figure before sliding away. Peyton smiled slightly to herself, knowing that she looked good for once. Since Brooke had come home she had made it her personal mission to sort out Peyton's wardrobe, conveniently throwing anything she didn't like into the trash, before replacing it with C over B originals. Today she was wearing skinny jeans with knee high boots, a designer tank top and her mom Ellie's old leather jacket, which now fit her perfectly. Her hair had been blow dried for once, so that glossy ringlets fell in ribbons around her shoulders.

"Get you minds back on the game!" Nathan barked, and several of the players jumped, causing Lucas to laugh in response.

"What else is on their minds?" Jamie asked innocently, jumping off the bottom step of the bleachers and running towards the adults. "She's _my_ Aunt Peyton, not theirs," he stated confidently, reaching Peyton who swept him up into a hug.

"Thanks, Baby James," she replied, settling in against her hip, before turning her attention over to Nathan. "I've just come here to drop off your tickets for tonight," she smiled, pulling the tickets out of her back pocket with her free hand, and passing the pile of glossy paper over.

"So Skinny Girl, are you ready to rock your butt off tonight?" Skills asked, taking his and Mouth's ticket from the pile. Junk and Fergie were working for the night on the door, so they didn't need tickets.

"Er... yeah," she replied, adjusting Jamie's weight slightly and shuffling her feet. She knew that Karen was counting on her to breathe new life back into her club, and Peyton was feeling the pressure. "I'm kind of nervous actually, and I'm wishing Brooke could be there to celebrate with us."

"She still stuck in New York fighting with Victoria?" Nathan asked, ruffling his son's hair before turning his attention back to the players who were taking advantage of their coach's distraction of Peyton.

"Yeah," Peyton mumbled, knowing that she had caused a lot of problems for the company, because Brooke had come home to help her. She had been on the phone earlier with a list of instructions for her, and the location of her new outfit that Brooke was insisting she wear tonight. "Speaking off, she needs me to drop off her new sketches to Millie, so I'd better get going."

"Aunt Peyton?" Jamie questioned, just as she was about to set him on his feet, and she looked at him expectantly with her eyebrows raised. "Can I come with you? I'll be _super_ helpful. I've even got my cape."

"Jamie, Aunt Peyton has a lot to do today, maybe you could help her out next time, or with the clean up tomorrow," Nathan answered quickly, causing Jamie to pout in an adorable way.

"Actually I could do with the distraction," Peyton responded, and Nathan raised his eyebrows at her. "Well otherwise I'll just end up re-ordering the record collection, and I've already done that three times already." Lucas let out an unexpected laugh at her final statement, causing the rest of the group to look at him in surprise, having not known he was listening. "Nate its fine, I promise. Haley is coming by Tric later to help with the sound check, so she can take him home, and I'll borrow the car seat out of your car."

Nathan watched them for a moment longer before nodding in agreement, and Jamie instantly scrambled down to run back over to the bleachers to grab his long red cape, meeting Peyton by the exit doors. He watched as Jamie reached up to grab onto Peyton's hand, and her blonde curls bounced around her shoulder as she laughed at whatever Jamie was telling her.

"That kid loves his 'cool' Aunt Peyton," Nathan observed, laughing slightly to himself at how well Jamie had accepted her into his life.

"Yeah, well Skinny Girl has always had a way with all of the Scott boys," Skills remarked, and Nathan laughed in agreement. Lucas forced out a laugh, which sounded fake to even his ears, before resolutely focusing his attention on the remainder of the game.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey Lindsey, are you nearly ready?" Lucas asked, popping his head around the bedroom door whilst buttoning his light blue shirt, leaving a triangle of white t-shirt showing at the top. There was a tension between himself and his girlfriend over the past couple of weeks, that hadn't been there before... They had been arguing more, as Lindsey was pressuring him into writing his new novel on the computer, but this time Lucas' muse was making him write with a pen and paper, as he preferred to be out of the house.

In addition to this, Lindsey wouldn't drop the fact that his renewed interest in writing coincided with Peyton's sudden reappearance in town. She had at first encouraged him to help out an old friend, setting her up with an office in his mom's club, but since then tried to restrict his time alone with her. She didn't even like it when they were just being civil with each other, let alone when they crossed the line into friendly.

"Er... nearly," she mumbled, smoothing out her fitted grey dress and fluffing up her hair.

"Well hurry up. You're usually the first one ready, and I don't want to be late. The queue is going to be huge," he reasoned, grabbing his car keys and shrugging on his jacket.

"You haven't even noticed have you?" she questioned, standing up from the bed and squaring her shoulders, and he raised his eyebrows at her. "My hair," she stated. "I've had highlights put in."

"Of course I've noticed," Lucas smiled, walking over to her and placing a kiss to her lips. "You look beautiful, as always."

Entering Tric, having jumped most of the queue thanks to the tickets Peyton had given them, Lucas found most of his friends sitting in the reserved booth close to the stage, and if he looked down the side of the stage into the wings he could see Peyton working, with a set of headphones pushed into her hair. One of the band members came up to her, probably to ask her something, but the smile that she replied with had him gripping the edge of the table with jealously. That wasn't the smile she had been giving him recently, and it bothered him.

Striding her way out onto the stage, Peyton grabbed the microphone, ready to announce the first band, and Lucas got to see the dress that was screaming 'a Brooke Davis creation'. The deep green material flowed down her body, ending in ruffled chiffon to highlight her legs.

"Damn, Skinny Girl has attracted the attention of every male in this club without even saying a word," Skills stated, causing most of the table to laugh, but Lucas didn't dare move a muscle with Lindsey sitting so close to him.

"You did good Sawyer," Nathan shouted over the music as she threaded her way closer to their table, and she blushed in response. "I told you that you could do this in your sleep!"

"Hey Foxy," Peyton smiled, grabbing hold of Haley's hand and dragging her to her feet. "Come and dance with someone that actually knows what a beat is, and let's make your husband jealous," Peyton smirked in Nathan's direction, before pulling Haley into the centre of the dance floor.

"Jeez, I give her a compliment and all I get in return is a snarky response," Nathan grumbled slightly, causing Lucas to laugh.

"She never could take a compliment."

Nathan watched over his wife and best friend the best he could from where he was sitting, and he had to clench his fist when a drunken guy had joined them on the dance floor. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he watched as Haley whispered something into Peyton's ear before sliding off the dance floor and headed towards the bar, leaving Peyton alone with her new dance partner.

Flicking his eyes between his wife and Peyton, he could tell she was uncomfortable with the new arrangements when her eyes began to search the crowd for Haley's return, but she was too busy shouting her order over the music to Owen the new bartender. The guy shifted his attention, wrapping his hands around Peyton's slender waist, causing her to automatically brush them away and step backwards. This movement however was slowly backing her against the wall, trapping her.

"What the hell is happening there?" Skills gestured, and Nathan knew that he wasn't the only one watching out for Peyton. Nathan flinched, ready to move forwards, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucas slide to the edge of his seat.

Before they could blink however the guy had trapped her against the wall, pinning her there with one hand whilst the other slid down her jaw to her chin.

"Luke," Nathan didn't even glance at his brother as he sprang out of his seat, and he knew automatically that he was following.

"Already ahead of you," Lucas threw over his shoulder, as he overtook Nathan as he paused, checking his wife was still safe, cutting a straight path through the dancers, and not caring who he pushed out of the way.

Closing the gap quickly, Lucas' anger flared up when he saw the flash of fear behind Peyton's green eyes. The memory of her attacks from Psycho Derek flashed before him, which didn't help his emotions.

Nathan quickly closed the gap between them, watching silently as Lucas ripped the guy away from Peyton, who automatically recoiled against the wall, and Lucas punched him the jaw for good measure.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Lucas shouted, and Nathan slid in between the scuffle and Peyton, protecting her from the commotion. Wrapping is arm around her waist, and holding her gently against his back Nathan could feel the tremors running up and down her small frame.

From the opposite end if the club Junk ran across the dance floor with two bouncers in tow, who immediately grabbed the guy off the floor and started herding him towards the exit. Lucas followed their retreat, ordering the bouncer to bar him from the club from now on.

Haley reappeared in that moment, and Nathan wrapped his free arm around her, just as Peyton sank to the floor, with her green eyes flashing in the bright lights.

"What happened?" Haley whispered into Nathan's ear, watching Peyton for a moment before sinking to her knees in front of the blonde, who was now watching the stage intently with a look of confusion on her face.

Nathan immediately knew her train of thought, and sank down next to Haley. "Babes, can you do the closing speech for the band, and tell the audience that the DJ is going to play whilst the next band sets up," Nathan quickly explained, brushing a strand of Haley hair behind her ear. "I'll take Peyton into her office away from the crowd."

"Oh... okay," Haley stuttered, scurrying off into the crowd just as the band on stage finished their set.

"Come on Sawyer, let's get out of here," Nathan whispered, pulling her against his chest and leading her off the side of the dance floor.


	7. Chapter 7

Lucas stood by the door watching as the guy stumbled down the stairs and fell into the nearest cab. Once he was definitely satisfied that he wasn't coming back, he went over to have a quick word with the bouncers before heading back inside. Walking back over to the booth, he noticed Haley exiting the stage and Nathan was heading back across the dance floor. Owen the bartender was stood by their table with a pile of ice wrapped in a towel.

"That guy has been bothering her all night," Owen muttered under his breath, passing Lucas the towel for his hand before heading back to the bar.

"What the hell were you thinking, Lucas?!" Lindsey demanded, jumping up from the table. "Why did you have to go punch him?"

"Whoa, hang on, that guy totally deserved that," Nathan jumped in, defending his brother and seeing the jealously roll off Lindsey.

"I wasn't asking _you_ ," she threw back, looking at Lucas expectantly.

"Er, watch your tone," Lucas replied, staring at Lindsey as though she had two heads. "This is my mom's club and that guy was harassing one of my friends, so I took care of it. You have read my first book, so you should understand, but if you can't deal with that just go home."

Nathan looked at his brother in pure shock, having never heard him speak to a woman like that before, even if she deserved it. Lindsey looked as though someone had slapped her in the face, before she recovered and stalked out of the club.

Turning his back on the exit, Lucas turned to his brother. "How is she doing?"

"Not good Luke. I got her to her office, but she won't speak. She's just sat in her chair completely out of it."

"Get on the phone to Brooke and fill her in with what is happening, but tell her not to panic and we will take care of her. It's just that she is the only other person that knows what is going on in Peyton's head, so she might be able to help," Lucas replied quickly, before turning on his heel and heading towards the office.

"Oh god, I didn't even think," Haley gasped, having overheard the final part of Lucas' sentence, and she had quickly come to the realization of 'Psycho Derek.'

Lucas slipped into Peyton's dark office, closing the door softly behind him and closing off the sound of the club's music. He knew she was in here, but he just couldn't see her anywhere.

"Peyt?" he called out softly, scanning the area around the pool table; then he heard it. A quiet muffled sob that was coming from somewhere near her desk reached his ears. Crossing the room, taking even strides, he was almost dreading what he would find, but it didn't slow him down. Pulling her chair out of the way, he saw her hidden in the corner, curled up in the shadows. "Hey, hey, it's only me," he said soothingly as she flinched out of the way, and he got down on the floor at her level.

"God, I feel so stupid," she eventually spat out, shaking her head, and moving her leg away from his outstretched hand. Looking at her confused, Lucas moved back away from her. He could feel her anger crackle around her, _'all curly hair and venom'_ as his Uncle Keith once described her, coming to life before his eyes. This was the closest they had been to each other for quite some time, and Lucas got the feeling like she didn't want him anywhere near her personal space.

"You can't keep saving me," she scrambled past him, being very careful not to touch him. "I'm not yours to save anymore."

"Are we really doing this now?" Lucas questioned, mostly to himself, but she heard him clearly. The fake smile façade had been broken, and with it all her carefully built walls had come crashing down.

"Well you must have known that this would happen someday," she laughed sarcastically. "Although _'someday'_ in your book means _'never'_ so maybe not."

"I just meant that you've had a stressful night, so now might not be the best time," Lucas tread carefully, slowly standing up and looking across the desk at her. She had her arms crossed tightly across her chest and her green eyes were flashing in anger. "Why don't we go any find Nathan and Haley? I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone tonight."

"I've been alone every night for the past three years, this is no worse than any of those nights," she threw back at him, but then visibly flinching when the sliding door opened.

"Is everything alright in here?" Nathan questioned, throwing Lucas a quizzical look before walking over to Peyton. Haley was hovering in the door on the phone, possibly to Brooke or the babysitter.

"Yes, everything is fine," Lucas replied, noticing how Peyton seemed to relax as Nathan got closer.

"If you say so," Peyton muttered, allowing Nathan to wrap his arm around her shoulders. Lucas looked on, with tension rising up his back, even though he knew that they treated each other like brother and sister.

Ignoring the comment, Nathan glanced down through the curls and feeling all of her muscles poised, ready to spring away at a moment's notice. "Jamie has requested that his 'Cool Aunt Peyton' come stay with us for the next few nights whilst his Aunt Brooke is out of town." Nathan smiled, knowing that if he put it on Jamie asking she was more likely not to refuse. "I mean, if not he will use his sad puppy dog eyes on you next time he sees you, and you'll cave into feeding him ice cream for a month."

"He does use those eyes," Peyton agreed, nodding her head to accept the invitation, slipping from under his arm to grab her bag and leather jacket from the corner of the pool table in her office.

"Are you sure you alright?" Lucas asked, unable to leave it alone. Peyton glanced up for a split second, and he knew her walls were back in place.

"Go home to your girlfriend Luke," she sighed, turning her back on him and striding out of the office, linking arms with Haley and disappearing back into the club. Nathan caught his eye, before shrugging and following the two girls, leaving him alone in her office.


End file.
